The COP28 climate summit is expected to overrun as countries remain at loggerheads on key issues - including what to do about fossil fuels that are causing dangerous global warming.
The United Nations-led summit, which is being held in Dubai, was scheduled to end around midday on Tuesday after nearly two weeks of speeches, demonstrations and negotiations.
But the climate talks looked set to overrun, following Monday's release of a draft agreement that angered countries that insist on a commitment for rapid phase-out of coal, oil and gas.
The draft reportedly took out language that had been included in a previous version, which suggested fossil fuels would be "phased out".
Instead, the document called for countries to reduce "consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner."
Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, ridiculed the draft as "a meaningless wish list" that "questions the science".
Ms Stege said it fails to address the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
This year is expected to be the hottest year on record, endangering human health and leading to ever more costly and deadly extreme weather.
"There is no justice in a result from this COP that condemns my country's future," said Ms Stege, whose country is one of the many island nations most at risk from rising seas.
In the 21-page document, the words 'oil' and 'natural gas' did not appear, and the word 'coal' appeared just twice.
It also had a single mention of carbon capture, a technology touted by some to reduce emissions although it's untested at scale.
Europeans also pushed for a stronger document.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said it would be "difficult" to reach a decision by midday on Tuesday.
"This is not a problem for the European delegation," she said. "We have time and we are prepared to stay a little longer."
Bangladesh climate envoy Saber Chowdhury said a revised text would be presented on Tuesday morning, taking into account the comments from the many participants .
"It'll be new. To what extent it's improved remains to be seen," he said shortly after discussions ended around 2am on Tuesday.
Final decisions by COPs have to be by consensus, with all 198 parties agreeing.
COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure. The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word. It is even worse than many had feared. It is “Of the Petrostates, By the Petrostates…
— Al Gore (@algore) December 11, 2023
Activists said they feared potential objections from major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, had watered down the text.
The head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the powerful oil cartel, was reported to have written to member countries last week urging them to block any language to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.
Saudi Arabia's Noura Alissa said the deal "must work for all."
"It must be relevant, it must make to sense to accelerate action for every single country in this room, not some over others," she said.
Some developing nations resisted a fossil fuel phase-out on the grounds it was unfair for wealthy nations, after centuries of using and profiting from coal, oil and gas, to deny them the same.
That included Botswana, whose environment minister, Philda Nani Kereng, said her country is "still...exploiting natural resources for economic development, for livelihood improvement, for job creation and so forth."
She said it is important any agreement does not "stop us from developing our people".
China and the US - the world's two biggest sources of planet-warming emissions - both spoke against the draft text.
Zhao Yingmin, China's vice minister for Ecology and Environment, said at the meeting that "the draft fails to address the concerns of developing countries on some key issues" and in particular the idea that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025.
United States climate envoy John Kerry said the language on fossil fuels in the text "does not meet the test" of keeping the Paris agreement alive.
"I, like most of you here, refuse to be part of a charade [of not phasing out fossil fuels]", Mr Kerry said. "This is a war for survival."
Mr Kerry's remarks received a round of applause from the room. But he was confronted as he left by climate activists who called for more action, saying their future is at stake.
Former US Vice President and climate activist Al Gore said on X, formerly Twitter, the climate conference was "on the verge of complete failure".
"The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word," he wrote. "It is deeply offensive to all who have taken this process seriously."
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber told a plenary session on Monday "the time to decide is now."
"We must still close many gaps. We don't have time to waste," he said.
